AN EXAMINATION ON THE IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL ON TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SOCIAL STUDIES.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In the teaching and learning process, instructional materials are very significant. It improves the kids' ability to remember things. Oral teaching cannot be the key to effective pedagogy at current time when education has extended far and completely; consequently, the teacher must employ instructional resources to make the teaching and learning process exciting (NIC hulls, 2003; Raw, R. 2006). Instructional materials, according to Abdullahhi Mahmood (2010), are locally manufactured or imported instruments that aid in the teaching/learning process. Obanga and Della (2005) see them as materials that are utilized to create products that have the potential to greatly improve intellectual usage. impact teaching materials, and the usage of instructional materials may help students learn more effectively. Cronbach Cross (2009) identifies the critical parts of behavior that provide the foundation for learning theory situations, which include all items, people, and symbols in the learning environment. A person's response to a circumstance in the past helps them react to similar situations in the future. Individual attention may be piqued by using instructional materials to create an interest objective that will assist the learner in achieving direct effort. The teacher's motivation issue is fundamentally one of setting up an environment with instructional materials where the student can perceive the objectives he wants to achieve.

Over the years, instructors' poor choice of teaching techniques has been criticized for pupils' low performance in public exams. Other variables, such as instructional materials, instructor qualifications, school environment variables, and student characteristics, all play a role in teaching and learning activities. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of instructional materials on student academic achievement. It is impossible to overstate the relevance of instructional materials in any teaching/learning process. This is due to the fact that such resources make teaching/learning more enjoyable, vivid, and tangible. The items invented or acquired to aid or enable instructors in imparting structured information, abilities, and attitudes to learners within an educational context are known as instructional materials (Nwachukwu, G.T. 2006). To be more specific, instructional materials are educational tools that are utilized to illustrate teaching content, making learning more tangible and less abstract. The order in which students encounter things has a direct impact on their ability to complete the assignment. Instructional material improves factual knowledge acquisition and retention by giving a more realistic experience. Instructional materials not only give students with the essential practical experience, but also assist them in integrating previous knowledge.

The introduction of multiple new disciplines at various levels of school is one of the novelties in the Nigerian educational system. Because it is still relatively new in the school curriculum, the Social Studies program is one of these curricular innovations. According to Orakwe and Ugwu (2000), Social Studies instructional resources are information repositories from society that are used to impart desired knowledge to students during classroom teaching. Instructional materials, according to Agwu Felix (2001), are those teaching apparatus that include textbooks, workbooks, charts, audio visual aids, chemicals, specimens, and other relevant things that will attract students' attention and should only be introduced by the teacher at the appropriate time. Simply simply, instructional materials are those that a teacher uses to improve the efficacy of his or her lessons while also assisting him or her in communicating more effectively with the students. Social Studies is a topic that tries to assist students in becoming more creative, patriotic, responsible, and capable of contributing to the nation's progress (Ezegbe, W.R. 2008). The ultimate purpose of Social Studies, according to Okojie Wendy, (2005), is to educate people with information and awareness for productive interactions and life. It has achieved widespread acceptability as a result of its value in national development, to the point that it has become one of the fundamental courses at the elementary school level. Despite the significance of Social Studies in national development and stakeholders' attempts to encourage students to study the subject, pupils continue to perform poorly (Agara, A.O. 2010). Students' success in social studies, according to Omabe Owara (2006), left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, low performance on the junior certificate test in social studies has been linked to a variety of issues. Non-use of educational materials is one of these reasons. According to Igu& Margret (2012), social studies is an activity-based topic that relies on the use of instructional resources for successful teaching. According to Omabe (2006), instructional resources are essential in the teaching and learning of social studies since, regardless of a teacher's efficiency, successful lesson delivery is impossible without the usage of instructional materials. Instructional resources, according to Esu, Enukoha, and Umoren (2004), aid in the learning of abstract concepts by helping to concretize ideas and spark learners' creativity. Furthermore, educational tools aid active involvement in the learning process while conserving instructor energy by lowering the number of vocal instructions. In a similar line, Mathew Moses (2012) claims that using instructional materials makes teaching more successful since it allows students to actively engage in classroom training. All of these viewpoints imply that using instructional materials improves student performance. In contrast to the foregoing viewpoints, Orji Oke, (2012) and Ekpe Ona, (2010) concurred in their separate investigations that instructional resources are not necessary if the students are clever and the instructor has strong subject matter expertise. According to Egbu Rhea (2012), integrating students in classroom activities is the most important thing since it makes teaching more learner-centered. He went on to say that immersing students in classroom activities helps them find new information and obtain fresh perspectives. According to the above-mentioned experts' perspectives, there is a compelling case for using instructional materials in the teaching of social studies to increase student accomplishment, necessitating this research.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

For a long time, particularly at the secondary school level, the teaching of social studies has been harmed by UN-resourceful and UN-motivated instructors. Many instructors at this level believe that using instructional materials in a social studies class is not always necessary. There has been widespread criticism of students' low performance in social studies in high school throughout the state. This low performance is due to a scarcity of instructional materials or resources that will aid in the teaching of the fundamental idea of social studies. The above-mentioned has been reported by Kojo Ojo (2006). As a result, the learners' social studies learning seems abstract and challenging since they only employed their senses. Teachers of social studies have been noted to find it a herculean effort to complement their lessons with appropriate instructional tools such as audio, video, and audio-visual aids. This might be due to a shortage of textbooks, resourcefulness, ingenuity, or blatant incompetence on the part of the professors. Whatever the situation may be, the absence of instructional resources is a significant obstacle to successful topic teaching and learning.

1.3     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study is to find out the impact of instructional material on teaching and learning of social studies, specifically the study intends to:

i.              To find out the availability of social studies instructional material in secondary schools.

ii.          To examine the impact of instructional material on the academic performance of student.

iii.           To evaluate the challenges of teachers in teaching social studies in secondary school.

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions has been prepared for the study:

i.          Is  there an availability of social studies instructional material in secondary schools?

ii.        What  are the impact of instructional material on the academic performance of student?

iii.      What are the challenges of teachers in teaching social studies in secondary school?

1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study examines the impact of instructional material on teaching and learning of social studies, the study will be significant to the following:

The knowledge obtained would help the government most especially local government and educators to reflect and make evaluation on the requirements of other instructional materials apart from class-rooms alone. Since the beginning of secondary schools, the government and local communities have been putting more emphasis on the construction of new class-rooms, and recently, construction of laboratories. However, provision of quality secondary school education requires more than just class-rooms and laboratory buildings. The evaluation of instructional materials, along with other reform movements, allows educators and planners to plan for appropriate environment for teaching and learning so as to provide quality secondary school education.

Academia: this study will be delimited to the academic community as it will contribute to the existing literature on the need to have instructional material in teaching and learning.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will find out the availability of social studies instructional material in secondary schools. The study will also examine the impact of instructional material on the academic performance of student. Lastly, the study will evaluate the challenges of teachers in teaching social studies in secondary school. Hence the study is delimited to Edo state.

1.7       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Just like any other research, unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, and inability to get data were among the constraints the researcher encountered in the cause of this study. Financial constraint was equally faced by  the researcher, in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires. Furthermore, time factor pose another constraint because the researcher have to shuttle between writing of the research and engaging in other academic work which made it uneasy for the researcher.

1.8       DEFINITION OF TERMS

Instructional material: facilities given to students, so that they can use every opportunity to develop full potential.

Teaching: the occupation, profession, or work of a teacher

Learning: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught

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